Ɛpsilon

From James Orton   8 September 1869

Vassar College | Poughkeepsie, New York.

Sept. 8. 1869.

Charles Darwin Esq &c | Down, Bromley, Kent.

My dear Sir—

I take the liberty of sending you the first lower molar of a Horse, the skull of which (almost entire) I found fossil in a deep deposit in the Valley of Quito, 10000 ft. above the sea. The remains of the Horse, as I mentioned in a former letter, were accompanied by relics of a Mastodon, Deer, Llama, Auchenia &c.1 I am curious to know the species of the Horse; how it differs from other sp. of Horse found elsewhere in South America and lately by Prof Owen in the tertiary of Mexico.2 The entire specimen (and I believe this is the first equine skull found in South America) would be a better guide; but perhaps this tooth will show its affinities. If you have not the time to examine it, will you please send it to Prof. Owen.

I am with high respect | Your obedient Servant | James Orton.

PS. My book on “The Andes and the Amazon” will be out in November, when I shall have the honor of sending you a copy.3

CD annotations

Top of letter: ‘Name will [illeg] suffice’ pencil
1
Orton’s letter of 4 January 1869 described his scientific expedition to South America, where he had found mammalian fossils. Auchenia is a genus of the family Camelidae; it formerly included extant species like llamas and alpacas but is now restricted to one fossil species.
2
For Richard Owen’s paper on fossil horses, see Owen 1869. See also the letter from W. B. Dawkins, 17 July 1869.
3
Orton 1870 was dedicated to CD (see letter from James Orton, 4 January 1869, and letter to James Orton, 23 January [1869]). CD’s annotated copy is in the Darwin Archive–CUL (see Marginalia 1: 644).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6882,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6882